Combined street and traffic sign



Nov. 1, 1932. E. E. SMITH COMBINED STREET AND TRAFFIC SIGN Filed'April 28, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 llIllllllllllllllllllliif INYENTOR, [011421 Jmz'ik,

I I I I I I I I lvL ATTORNEY No v. 1, 1932. E. E. SMITH COMB INED STREET AND TRAFFIC SIGN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 28, 1952 HALL 4! I ll INVENTOI;

Q 8 0 $7 M4 7 3% w 4 z r w 1/ H m z a n J l ATTORNEY.

Nov. 1, 1932.

E. E. SMITH 1,885,776

COMBINED STREET AND TRAFFIC SIGN Filed April 28, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY.

- also painted signs,

i atented Nov. 1, 1932 A "en EARLE E. SMITH, or WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS GOMBINED STREET AND TRAFFTC STGN Application filed. April 28, 1932. Serial No. 607,939. I

My invention relates to improvements in combined street and traflic signs.

' An object of my invention is to provide, incorporated in a single sign post, means for legibly displaying all required, or deslrable, information regarding locality, direction, and traflic regulations.

A further object of my invention is to provide a sign post which will display such information adequately at all times, both day and night. At the present time, a ma or1ty of the street signs now in use are painted metal signs, and many of these are so sltuated as to be unreadable after. dark. Many of the traffic, or directional signs, in use are with no provision made for illumination at night. This lack of visibility of such directional and warning signs at night is the cause of a reat many acc1 dents. It is the purpose of provide, in such a sign post means for illuminating the information presented thereon, in such a manner as to make it clearly legible from any reasonable distance, at all times.

Broadly, my invention comprises a post member having signs and directions painted on its sides, a sign box secured to the top of said post, signs on the sides, ends, and bottom of the sign box,a glass top on the sign box, and means within the box for illuminating the signs on the box and the sign on the sides of the post, at night.

A preferred form of my sign post is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the location of my sign posts on highway and cross streets. Fig. 2 is a side elevational view ofa sign post having a round post member designed ,to be set in the ground.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the post, shown in Fig. 2, looking from the left. V

Fig. l is a View of the opposite end of the post, shown in Fig. 2, looking from the right.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of a preferred form of sign post having a post member that is rectangular in cross section, and showing the street side of the post.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the sign post, shown in Fig.5. 1

my inventlon to Fig. 7 is an elevational view ofv the sidewalk side of the post member, shown. in Fig. 5. V

Fig. Sis an underside plan View taken on the line 88 of Fig. 5 showing the compass.

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view through the sign box.

' Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view on theline 10-10 of Fig. 9, and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail sectional-view, w

illustrating the construction of the top frame of the sign box which permits removal of the top, side, and end panels of the sign box.

Referring now to the drawings in detail,

in which like numerals refer to like "parts throughout:

As indicated in Fig. 1, the sign posts, or traffic signs, 1, are placed near the intersection of the highway 2 and cross streets, 3, 4;,

5, and 6. The posts 1 are so placedthat them long axis of the sign box is parallel with the street whose name the sign bears.

Figs. 2, 3, and 4: illustrate a sign post, which may be used at the intersection of a highway-anda one-way street. The round post 7 has secured thereto'the sign box 8, in which are removably secured-the metal perforated signs, (see Figs. 10 and 11), and the translucent end panels 10 and 11. The top, or cover 12, of the sign box 8 is made of some 8 suitable transparent material, such asglass, I or celluloid, for the purpose of admitting light during the day time to, the interior of the sign box 8. The metal signs 9 are perforated to form letters 13, indicating the name sign on the end panel, next adjacent to said opening. The translucent end panels 10 and 11, (see Figs. 3 and 4:) are colored and lettered V to indicate the desired'information. For the purposes of illustration, I have shown the wordsstop and go, at16 and 17 respec- 1 0 tively. Many serious accidents arecaused, V

. tance than that at which the letters become shown). The bottom plate 32 is formed legible. For the purposes of illustration, I have shown a band, or bar 18, of white on a red background for the stop signal and a diamond-shaped figure of white, 19, against a green background, for the go signal. The sides of the post 7 are painted with letters 20 and 21 and colors of the backgrounds 22 and 23, corresponding with the end panels 10 and 11 of the sign box 8. r

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 illustrate a preferred form of sign post, in which the post is rectangular in cross section, thus providing four flat sides on which are painted any desired information. The hollow post 24 is formed with the tapered sides 25 and 26, the base member 27 and cap member 28. The sign box8 is secured to the reinforcing, or supporting plate 29, which is in turn secured to the cap member 28. The cap member 28 is formed with perforations 30 and a horn, or bell 31, indicated by dotted lines in the form of a circle and on the drawings by the words electric bell, is secured within the cap member' 28 and'connected to an electric warning circuit, (not shown) to warn drivers at times of fog, or of the fact that they are approaching a point of street intersection.

The sign box 8 is formed with the bottom 7 plate, or member 32, top frame 33, and corner posts 34. Electric lamps: 35, as shown in *ig. 9, are removably secured in the sockets 36, within the sign box 8 and connected to the regular street lighting circuit, (not with the openings 37 and 38, and is covered on the inside, or upper surface, with the thin sheet 39 of highly reflective translucent material,

such as white mica, white glass, or some similar suitable substance. The reinforcing plate 29 is formed with openings 37 registerpainted, or otherwise-marked, with the points of the compass over the opening 38, as indicated at 40, in Fig.8. Light entering through the transparent top member 12 in the daytime, or from the lamps 35 at night, is projected downward through the openings 37 and 37 onto the sides of the tapered post 24, thus illuminating thesigns, which are aintedon the post 24, as shown in Fig. 5. imilarly, the dial 40, indicating the points of the compass, is. illuminated from above. The perforated metal sign plates 9 are covered on the inside with translucent and light reflection sheets 41, similar to the sheet 39,

and are painted, or otherwise colored, at 42 and 43, for registering with-the openings 15,

.signs marked on its sides, a

The top member 12, signs 9, and end panels 10 and 11 are removable and interchangeable. The top, or corner frame member, 33, of the sign box 8, is left open at one end, as indicated at 44, in Fig. 9. The top 12 may be removed by sliding it out of thisopen end 44. After the top 12 is removed, the signs 9 and ends 10 and 11 may be removed by pulling upward through the open top of the box 8. The corner posts 34 of the box 8 are inclined outwardly from the bottom to the top, thus supporting the signs 9 at an angle to the vertical. This angle presents the signs9 in a legible position to a person situated close to they sign post 24, as well as to those at a distance. The topmember 12 is formed with the slightly pitched upper surface 45, for the purpose of shedding rain, and the top frame 33 is channel-shaped in cross section, as indicated in Fig. 11, and formed with a plurality of open ings 46, for the purpose of draining any water which may collect in the frame 33 from the pitched top surface 45;

What I claim is: V v

1. A street and traffic sign post comprising in combination, a hollow post member having signs on the sides of said post member, an audible signal device located within said post member, asign box secured to said post member, a transparent top member removably secured in said sign box, corner posts in said sign box formed-with grooves open at the top of said corner posts and normally covered by said top member, side and end sign panels slidably secured in the grooves in said corner posts wherebysaid side'and end panels may be removed from said sign box after the top member has been removed, and means for illuminating the interior of said sign box and the sides of said post. j

2. A street and trafiic sign device comprising, in combination, a post member rectangular in cross section, a sign painted on each of the sides of said post, a sign box secured to said post member, a transparent top member removably secured to said sign box,perforated sign panels rem-ovably secured to said 7 sign box, translucent end panels having painted. thercon'traffic directions, the end panels being removably secured in said sign box, and means for illuminating the interior of said sign box comprising a plurality of electric lamps secured within said sign box, and connected in a street lighting circuit.

3. A street and trafficsign post, comprising in combination, a post sign box secured to said post, a transparenttopmember remember having,

movably secured to said sign box, side and end sign panels removably secured in said sign box, a bottim plate member secured to said sign box and formed with a plurality of openings, a compass dial secured over one of the openings formed in said bottom plate, a translucent and reflective lining material secured Within said sign box, and a plurality of electric lamps secured Within said sign box, for the purpose of projecting light through said side and end sign panels and through the openings in said bottom plate member onto the sides of said post for illuminating the post member.

4. A street and traffic sign post comprising, in combination, a post member, a sign box secured on said post member, street signs removably secured in the sides of said sign box, translucent end panels provided with V contrasting designs in co-operation With the Words stop and go removably secured in the ends of said slgn box, and means for 11- luminating the interior of said sign box by daylight and by electric lamps.

EARLE E. SMITH. 

